MBTA weighs new fare-collection system

BOSTON -- The MBTA is moving forward with a more flexible payment system where riders could maintain an account and cash could become a thing of the past on buses and trolleys.

David Block-Schachter, the MBTA's new chief technology officer, said Monday that fare boxes on buses and trolleys cost "more than most cars out there," and he wants to get the price down to the cost of "nice bicycle."

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said less expensive fare boxes could be installed on the back doors of Green Line trains where some passengers board without paying while the doors are open to let riders out.

Block-Schachter looked to transit system upgrades in Chicago, London and Salt Lake City, and said the new system could be implemented as quickly as two years after a vendor is selected. The MBTA will issue a request for proposals for next-generation fare collection this spring.

"We will phase out cash on board," Block-Schachter told the MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday.

Riders paying for bus and trolley fares with cash take more time to board than those using pre-loaded Charlie Cards.

Pollack said the fare-collection tech upgrade project is "already among the fastest I've seen the MBTA" move and the request for proposals will be out about a year or two earlier than they would have been if the MBTA conducted "business as usual.

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"We previously had been on a five-to-seven-year timeline to make the switchover," said Monica Tibbits-Nutt, a member of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board. She said if the project proceeds well, new fare gates could be in place "within 30 months."

Tibbits-Nutt said the longer the T waits, the more money will go into the current, aging system, which she said is "incredibly expensive to maintain."

Fares will increase an average of 9.3 percent in July, and fare revenues are expected to make up about $659.2 million of the T's roughly $2 billion fiscal 2017 budget. The total cost of the current automated fare collection system is $33.6 million with about half of that going toward maintenance, according to MBTA data. The MBTA does not have an estimate of the prevalence or cost of fare evasion.

The T's Charlie Card system allows users to tap their card against a fare box to gain access to the transit system. The system-wide implementation of Charlie Cards began Jan. 1, 2007, according to the T.

An upgraded system could allow for distance- or time-based fares, and allow passengers to maintain accounts rather than storing their pass or balance only on the card, officials said.

A system where riders tap in and tap out of the transit system would also allow for better data on riders, making for more attractive deals with advertisers, Block-Schachter said.

"All we know today is where they enter and we don't even know that for everybody," MBTA Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve said.

Block-Schachter said riders could be able to tap their credit card or phone rather than obtaining a Charlie Card, which would still be available for riders without bank accounts. Block-Schachter said small fare vending machines could be placed at subway stations and at major bus stops.

While there would be questions about the configuration and power usage, Block-Schachter said fare boxes could be placed in the rear of Green Line trolleys and buses, speeding up the boarding process.

Tibbits-Nutt said the MBTA does not yet have details about how fares would be enforced in the rear of vehicles away from the drivers. She said riders could be encouraged to adjust to the cashless system by making the cards available in more retail stores and vending machines.

"Anytime we change it's going to be painful for the riders," Tibbits-Nutt told reporters, but she said tapping phones for purchases has already entered the mainstream.

The MBTA has already seen success on the smartphone app that allows riders on the commuter rail and ferries to purchase and present tickets. Since the pilot launched in November 2012, it has taken in $103 million, and Block-Schachter said an improved version of mobile ticketing would become a permanent feature by the fall.

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